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The long national Dwightmare is over. According to multiple reports, Dwight Howard will be traded to the Los Angeles Lakers as early as tomorrow.

In the proposed four-team trade the Lakers will send Andrew Bynum to the Philadelphia 76ers and Philly will send Andre Iguodala to the Denver Nuggets. The Orlando Magic will get multiple players and first round draft picks from all three other teams.

Early rumors had Pau Gasol headed to Denver but that does not seem to be happening now. Gasol should be staying with the Lakers.

Being able to acquire Howard and still hang on to Gasol is a coup for the Lakers. This trade certainly makes them a favorite to win a championship this season.

So we are looking at a starting lineup of Kobe Bryant, Steve Nash, Gasol, Howard and Metta World Peace. That’s a starting five that should be able to beat any team in the league.

As long as David Stern doesn’t veto this trade the Lakers could very well be hanging their 17th Championship banner very soon.

Like this:

UPDATE (07/08/12, 8:48pm PST): Andrew Bynum has been unwilling to sign a contract extension and has made it known that he is willing to test the free agency market after the 2012-2013 season. This has pretty much killed the deal between Orlando and Los Angeles.

UPDATE (07/06/12, 10:05 am PST): Apparently the Lakers are NOT demanding Dwight Howard sign an extension. They believe they can convince him to stay if they can compete for a championship. Oh, boy.

Rumors of an impending trade between the Orlando Magic and Los Angeles Lakers are burning up the internet this morning.

The prize for the Lakers is, of course, Dwight Howard.

Supposedly, the framework for the blockbuster trade is in place. The Lakers will send Andrew Bynum to Orlando and get Howard in return.

The deal is contingent, however, on Bynum signing an extension with Orlando. No word on weather the Lakers are demanding the same from Howard.

The addition of Howard, along with recently acquired Steve Nash, would make the Lakers favorites to win a championship next season.

Reports are that Howard has already spoken to Kobe Bryant and Nash. The trade is supposed to be finalized over the weekend.

No sooner did the Oklahoma City Thunder bounce the Los Angeles Lakers out of the second round of the NBA playoffs for the second year in a row then the trade rumors started.

It seemed that everyone, and I mean everyone, was not pleased with Andrew Bynum’s lackluster performance in Game 5. And if his four rebound effort didn’t make them angry his “I’ll play anywhere,” locker room comment after the game sure did.

Of course, everyone wants to trade Bynum for Orlando Magic center Dwight Howard. I’m here to tell you that is not going to happen. Dwight Howard does not want to play for the Lakers. I spent the better part of last night trying to explain that to all the broken hearted Lakers fans on Twitter, but they just wouldn’t listen.

Howard has made it pretty clear that he does not want to play with Kobe Bryant and the Lakers. In fact, the only reason he signed on for another year with the Magic is because they threatened him with a trade to the Lakers. It was reported after this season’s trade deadline that the trade was agreed to between the two teams.

And why would you want to trade Andrew Bynum anyway? I know he can be a bit immature and stubborn at times but his upside is so great you would be a fool to trade him. The only center who might be better than him is Howard and he’s not coming. So what are your choices? Tyson Chandler? Joakim Noah? Al Jefferson? None of those guys are even close to Bynum’s skill level.

Not only is Bynum going to stay, I think you will see the Lakers build a team around him. Kobe is on his way out. He has maybe two or three seasons left in him. And those aren’t going to be high level seasons.

It was just a few weeks ago when many Lakers Fans were ready to ship out Andrew Bynum in order to get Dwight Howard. After the failed Chris Paul trade, many Lakers fans doubled down on a Bynum/Howard trade. They wanted that trade to happen no matter what.

To be fair, Dwight Howard is the best center in the NBA right now. And I will make the argument that Andrew Bynum is the second best center in the NBA. You might think I’m crazy, but think about it for a second. You know I’m right. And one thing to keep in mind, The Orlando magic are probably not going to trade Howard for Bynum straight up. They are going to want a lot for him. Probably more than the Lakers are willing to give up.

Plus, Drew has put together some very good games coming off his suspension. I know it’s a small sample set, but he looks good. Really good. This is the first time in his career that he is playing solid minutes and having the pressure to produce squarely on his shoulders. With Lamar Odom getting sent to the Dallas Mavericks, Drew has had to step up and to his credit, he has.

That is still not good enough for some. Soon after Drew’s first 20/20 game in his career against the Houston Rockets, many were tweeting, “How many 202/20 games does Dwight have?” Or they were bringing up all the games he has missed in his career. They were overlooking the obvious, though. Bynum is only now getting the minutes to have 20/20 games.

Up until now the Lakers have limited his minutes. Possibly because they were afraid he might get injured again. But now, without Odom on the team, Mike Brown has no choice but to play Bynum for heavy minutes. And I’m confident Drew will not let him (and us) down.

The NBA lockout is barely over and already one of the biggest trade rumors in recent history is making the rounds. I am of course talking about the possible trade deal that will send both Dwight Howard and Chris Paul to the Los Angeles Lakers.

You heard me right, BOTH of them.

This would easily make the Lakers the odds on favorite to win this year’s championship.

That is of course if it actually happens. To me it doesn’t seem feasible. I don’t think the Lakers have the players to make it happen. Even though sources are saying that every Lakers player not named Kobe is on the trading block I still don’t think they get both.

Any trade scenario would have to start with Andrew Bynum. Given his history of injury and the cheap shot he gave JJ Barera in last year’s playoffs its seems like the Lakers are ready to part way with him. But who else do you throw into the mix? Pau Gasol? If that is the case the Lakers have seriously depleted their frontcourt and left a foul-prone Howard with no help. Maybe they throw in Lamar Odom. Or Ron Arte…errrrr…Metta World Peace. Or Matt Barnes. Or Derek Fisher.

The question is, where do they stop? Do they give away the whole team to get Paul and Howard? For the Lakers’ sake I hope they don’t do that because they then run the risk of turning into the Miami Heat. That is, superstars up front and nobody on the bench.

If the Lakers can land only one player I think they should go for Chris Paul. They have a more dire need for a solid point guard than for a big man.

While it’s great to dream about the Lakers becoming a de facto All-Star team I think it is more realistic to think that they will get the one piece they need to win another championship. And that piece is Chris Paul.